Middle East crisis choked one of the world’s busiest oil pipelines for over 100 days, sending ripples to economies across the globe. As energy shipments fell, many players opted for a range of tactics to keep the shipments flowing. The US adopted Iran's playbook. Using a method long associated with Iran's sanctions-busting efforts, the United States military has been overseeing secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports moving, according to sources cited by Reuters. The transfer system is fully controlled by the US military which was involved with aerial surveillance, compliance checks and monitoring rather than naval escorts. How US kept oil flowing The operation began in early May and involved smaller tankers carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz before transferring it to larger vessels waiting offshore. These transfers took place at two hubs: Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and another near Oman's port of Sohar. Since the operations began, at least 116 vessels had been involved in the transfers. According to the sources, tankers first gathered at designated meeting points before approaching the strait. Their departures were staggered so that ships remained around 3,000 to 4,000 metres apart. Some said that the vessels had to switch off their transponders and dim lights during the journey. The ships move through a series of checkpoints that allow the US military to monitor their progress. After passing through the strait and moving beyond the zone claimed by Iran, the smaller tankers pull alongside larger receiving vessels, many of them Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The oil transfer takes between 24 and 40 hours to complete. Once emptied, the smaller ships head back through the strait, while the fully loaded VLCCs continue towards international markets. The system relies on a small number of shipping companies willing to sail through the strait despite the Iranian blockade. Operators wanting to take part first went through compliance checks before receiving transit slots. The process includes submitting information to the US Navy's Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping office in Bahrain. Operation by the numbers: Vessels, risks and more By Tuesday morning, satellite images showed 12 pairs of ships positioned side by side in the Gulf of Oman, with eight pairs operating off Sohar and four near Fujairah. The operation appeared to reach its busiest point on June 11, when 17 pairs of ships were carrying out transfers at the same time across the two locations. Details of the large-scale oil transfer operation, including how it works and the role of an Apache helicopter that Iran shot down on June 9, went unreported. Though the exact role of the helicopter is not yet known, satellite images showed six pairs of tanker ships near Sohar on the day the helicopter was downed. Reuters reviewed more than a dozen satellite images taken between May 2 and June 11 showing transfers involving Gulf state-owned tanker fleets and internationally operated vessels receiving the cargo. Shipping data from LSEG and Kpler also showed repeated meetings between tankers operating in the area during that period. Based on the satellite imagery, Reuters estimated that at least 90 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products may have moved through this offshore network since early May. The figure remains small compared with the roughly 20 million barrels that passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day before the conflict. But the arrangement carries clear risks. Shipping industry officials said this increases the risk of collisions, especially as ships travel at night without lights and at speeds that make it harder to change course quickly. Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli war. Around a fifth of the world's oil consumption normally passes through the route. The disruption created what the report described as the biggest global energy supply shock in history and fuelled inflation worldwide. The transfer system appears to be part of efforts by the administration of US President Donald Trump to restore the movement of oil from the Gulf. Earlier this week, Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on Friday under a framework peace deal with Iran announced this week, although details remain unclear.
Middle East crisis choked one of the world’s busiest oil pipelines for over 100 days, sending ripples to economies across the globe. As energy shipments fell, many players opted for a range of tactics to keep the shipments flowing. The US adopted Iran's playbook. Using a method l…
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International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.